


Be Gay, Break Rules

by OhsheisnotFrench



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alive AU, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Caleb is Willie's uncle, Co-workers, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhsheisnotFrench/pseuds/OhsheisnotFrench
Summary: Alex gets a new job at a local music shop. Almost immediately, he falls for the owners son. There is a slight problem, due to some past drama having to do with previous workers, A no coworker dating rule is put into place. Alex hates this rule but is scared to do anything about it. That is until Willie reveals how he feels about Alex.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), minor Julie Molina/Luke Patterson - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	Be Gay, Break Rules

Alex was extremely nervous.

He was now face to face with “Covington’s Records,” which was a local music shop in Hollywood. While the store was pretty small, it had a great reputation. Or at least that was what the “Now Hiring” poster had claimed. This would be Alex’s first official job, that was if they hired him of course. Sure he tutored his fellow classmates in highschool to make some extra cash but this was completely different. It was his first time ever being interviewed and he got more and more anxious by the minute. He had never really been the best person which he was now realizing probably wasn’t the best for a retail job but what he did have was experience with music.

Alex and three of his best friends, Reggie, Luke and Bobby, created a band when they were 16 years old. It was called Sunset Curve and they did pretty well. While they didn’t get any big gigs, they had a small following. Then, one of the members, Bobby, ended up being a huge jerk. He stole the lyrics Luke had written and just left. When the others tried to contact him, they got no response. That’s when Julie Molina was brought into their life. She was a shy girl in Reggie’s music class but even though she was shy, the girl could perform. When they asked her to be a part of the band, she almost immediately accepted. They weren’t exactly sure why. She didn’t know them and they didn’t know her but now, they were closer than ever. They rebranded the band from Sunset Curve to Julie and the Phantoms. Why they ended up with that name was beyond them but it was a pretty cool sounding name so they just went with it.

Even if Alex wasn’t a part of the band, he would still have musical experience. He was majoring in music along with Julie and Luke. Reggie decided to take a gap year with everything going on. His parents just recently got a divorce and it tore the guy to shreds. Alex was glad Reggie took a break from everything. He deserved it more than anyone. 

Alex took a deep breath before making his way into the store. It looked almost exactly how Alex thought it would. Instruments were on display while there were shelves covered with CD’s in the center. He made his way over to the counter only to find no one there. He looked down and noticed there was a bell. He slowly lifted his hand and pressed down. The bell made a loud ding.

“Be right there!” He heard someone exclaim.

Alex just nodded to himself and bounced on the balls of his feet. Now that he was standing here, he was even more nervous than he had been before. He really wanted a job. Without one, it made him feel like he was disappointing someone, mostly his parents. His dad had already hated the idea that his son was studying art instead of something “useful” like business or engineering. Hypothetically, Alex could’ve done either of these things. He had always been at the top of his classes. Because of his anxiety and overbearing parents, the need to be absolutely perfect was one that overtook basically everything he did. His friends always got mad at him when he complained about getting a 97 on a test but they didn’t understand why. He tried to explain it but no matter how many times he tried, he knew they wouldn’t get it. Then, when he accidentally came out to his parents, that really rocked the boat. In fact, it flipped the boat over. His parents were extremely religious. Growing up, the church had been his second home. He had practically been to every church event there ever was.

He remembers the day he had come out in an accident. The family was having dinner and his mother asked if he had met anyone by now. Alex had been talking to a new guy recently and he was super excited about it but since he didn’t tell his parets he was gay, he strictly just reffered to him as they. He could tell his parents found it a bit weird but they didn’t question anything but then the word he accidentally spilled from Alex’s mouth as he was talking. His parents stared at him for a while before asking if he meant she. Alex was going to say yes but it felt as if his throat closed and he couldn’t say anything. He went to nod his head but instead, he ended up shaking it. He wasn’t sure why he did, but it happened. He was waiting for his parents to lash out but they didn’t do that. They just quietly told Alex to go to his room. One the way to his room, he heard his father bad talking him and his “choices.” Alex didn’t stay home that night. Instead he went to Julie’s. She didn’t even question why he was there. She just saw the tears in his eyes and let him in. Julie never told Luke or Reggie how Alex had cried himself to sleep that night and Alex was incredibly grateful.

After that, his relationship with his parents was extremely strained. They either treated him like he didn’t exist or blamed him for every inconvenience. It hurts that even if 2020, people would still be so ignorant. After Alex’s coming out, his little sister Katie started acting out. She would break curfew, skip school and not do any of her work. Alex knew this had nothing to do with him but his parents blamed his sister’s rebellion on him saying that he was the one to make her act this way. Alex knew the real reason was because Katie’s new boyfriend was the one encouraging her to do all that stuff but no matter what, he was still blamed. 

Now, instead of living with his parents, he lived with Luke and Reggie. They had gotten a small apartment and honestly, Alex hadn’t felt more relieved. 

“Can I help you?” A voice asked, taking Alex out of his thoughts.

Standing in front of him was a tall man, who seemed to be in his 40’s, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in dark colors and looked incredibly intimidating.

“I….uh….” Alex started to say before clearing his throat. “I saw a poster that said you were hiring.”

The man’s smile didn’t make him feel any better. In fact, it just made him more nervous. “Indeed we are. Usually, I would have my nephew question you but he is out on his lunch break.” He looked Alex up and down. He hated the fact that he was so nervous. The guy in front of him probably fed off of his nervousness. “So, what is your name young man.”

“Alex...ander. Alexander.” Alex hated using his full name but he thought that using it would make him seem more professional. 

“Well Alexander….what do you know about music?” The man in front of him asked as he glided his finger across the counter.

“I major in music.” Alex told him, sounding way more confident than he felt. He lost even more confidence when the man didn’t say anything. He just continued to look at him. “I am also in a band.” He confessed.

The man looked interested. “A band?”

“Yeah. I’m the drummer.”

While the man looked at him, Alex looked at the floor. This was a bad idea. He was embarrassing himself. He should just save his dignity and walk right out the-

“Well Alexander. You do seem to have musical knowledge and we are incredibly short staffed. The job is yours.”

Well that was not what he was expecting at all. “Really?”

“I don’t see why not. When can you start?”

“I can start tomorrow!”

The corner of the man’s lips curved into a smile. “Sleendid.” He held out his band. “My name is Caleb.”

It took Alex a few seconds to realize that he was offering Alex a handshake. The moment he realized, he quickly joined his hand with Caleb’s. He thought his father gave firm handshakes but Caleb was giving him a run for his money.

“So, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, 8:00.”

So that’s where Alex was currently standing, in front of Covington’s Records at 7;45 on a Saturday morning. Waking up at this time was really nothing. He was the early waker in his friend group and that was something he took pride in. He didn’t sleep like the dead, unlike Luke and Reggie who would probably sleep through an earthquake. Julie would’ve been in the same place as him if she actually went to sleep at a decent time. Alex had his fair share of late nights but Julie’s were almost everyday. She was up late writing lyrics which to be fair really paid off since her songs were absolutely amazing.

Alex was more nervous now than he had been yesterday. He only had to not make a complete and utter fool of himself yesterday but today, he had to show that he deserved this job. Plus, Alex expected he would half to spend the whole day with Caleb, which did not sound very fun. He was probably a nice guy but his features and tone were terrifying and Alex hoped he would be able to survive the day. He took a deep breath before entering the store. He was immediately met with Caleb. “Good morning Alexander.”

Alex tried not to cringe at the use of his full name. He knew he had given Caleb the name Alexander and he had every right to use it but it still felt weird. The only people who still used Alexander were his parents. Calm down Alex, Caleb was not your parents. Sure he was very intimidating, but he had been nothing but nice to him. Well he hadn’t really said much to him but he was still nice with what he did say. “Good morning sir.”

“So, are you ready?”

Alex could’ve simply answered with a “yes sir” but that felt a little too serious. But he didn’t want to be too carefree either. What would Julie say? “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He quickly realized that response was closer to what Luke would say, which definitely didn’t make for the best first impression, well first real impression. Caleb didn’t seem to mind, he just gave Alex a curious look before turning around and making his way to the counter. 

“Ok.” Alex mumbled to himself before following after Caleb.

“Alexander, meet my nephew William. He’ll be showing you the ropes.” Caleb explained before moving out of the way.

Alex thought he was going to die right then and there the moment he saw William. He was a tan boy with long brown hair and brown eyes. He shot a smile in Alex’s direction and his heart sped up an embarrassing amount. Of course he had perfectly straight white teeth. And obviously since the world hated him, William also had super deep dimples.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave him to teach you how things run around here.” Caleb told the two before dramatically turning away.

Neither of the two remaining boys said anything for a few seconds, which made Alex even more nervous. He was standing in front of the most attractive stranger in his life and he couldn’t even piece together a single word. Alex was lucky William was the one to break the silence. “Hey Alexander. Come back here and I’ll show you how to work the register.”

Alex quickly made his way behind the counter. “Please call me Alex.” He didn’t mean to sound as desperate as he did but he knew Caleb was going to call him Alexander so at least in theory, at least William would call him Alex.

“Oh thank god.” William sighed in relief. 

Alex furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”

“I thought I was gonna have to call you Alexander everytime.” William smiled. “Please don’t call me William, I hate it.”

“Then what should I call you?” Alex asked.

“Call me Willie.” He held out his hand and luckily, Alex was able to realize what Willie wanted so he raised his hand and shook Willie’s. The hand shake lasted way longer than his handshake with Caleb has lasted but he was not complaining. He didn’t want to admit it, but he definitely checked Willie out. He didn’t feel too ashamed about it because he noticed Willie was also looking at him up and down, which caused Alex to blush. Willie finally released Alex’s hand and licked his lips. “So, I should probably tell you how things work around here.”

“Uh yeah, that would be helpful.” Alex sarcastically joked. He really hoped Willie was good with sarcasm or it would get awkward pretty quickly.

Luckily, he got probably the cutest laugh he’s ever heard from Willie. He even LAUGHED cute? This guy was really gonna be the death of him. He quickly explained how things worked and while Alex tried to focus, he was never really good with focusing, especially when he was anxious. 

“So, do you have any questions?” Shit. Alex had nothing since he couldn’t focus. He didn’t want to seem rude by not asking a question but if he asked a question, would Willie think he was stupid? “No question is a dumb question.” Willie added, almost as if he could read Alex’s mind.

“Uh…” What question could Alex ask without sounding like he had been paying attention the whole time.”Is there anything else I need to know?” 

Alex was actually pretty proud of this question. It was safe and a perfectly reasonable question.

“Oh, Caleb has some rules. He’s kinda a stickler for them. Rules like don’t touch the instruments unless a customer asks and no food or drink around the instruments. You know, like basic rules.” He explained.

Alex nodded. Those rules seemed pretty reasonable and he didn’t think he’d have any problem following them.

“Oh right and there’s one more rule that’s kinda weird. No dating your coworkers.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed and his shoulders slumped. He was not expecting that rule and he was pretty disappointed. Even if he had liked Willie, nothing could happen between them. That sucked.

“Oh….why?”

Willie shrugged. “Apparently some sort of drama happened between the last two workers who were dating and then they both quit. Caleb says drama belongs on a stage and not the workplace...unless your workplace happens to be on a stage.”

“Wow, that’s weirdly inspiring.” Alex joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

Willie’s laugh once again brought Alex joy. He wanted to be the one to make Willie laugh all the time. He knew it was a bad idea to let these thoughts get to him, especially since Willie literally just explained the no coworker dating rule but he couldn’t help it. Alex was known for getting attached to people way too easily. This led to many heartbreaks but Alex couldn’t help it. He let people into his life just to let them hurt him. 

“Hey, how about we play a little game?” Willie asked and Alex could see the sparkle in his eye. 

“What kind of game?”

“20 questions.” Willie suggested.

Alex was awful at the game 20 questions. One, he was not the most knowledgeable about many mainstream people, two, he over thought it was too much and three, he was bad at answering yes or no questions. But he didn’t want to disappoint Willie, so he agreed.

“Alright, you ready?”

Alex thought of the first famous person who popped into his head before nodding.

“Alright, so what do you like to do for fun?”

Alex tilted his head in confusion. “That’s not a yes or no question.”

Willie shot Alex an equally as confused look. “Was it supposed to be?”

“Yeah, you ask yes or no questions to….I think we are talking about different games here.” Alex realized.

“What game were you thinking of?” Willie asked curiously.

“The one where you think of a person and the other player asks yes or no questions in order to try to guess who it is.”

Willie was silent for a few seconds before he busted out laughing. Even though Alex was embarrassed about the whole situation, he couldn’t help but laugh. Willie’s happiness was contagious. After about a minute, the laughing simmered down. 

“Well, who were you thinking of?” Willie questioned, still giggling as he talked.

“Oh uh, David Bowie.”

Willie nodded. “Why does that fit you so well?”

“Oh uh I’m not sure exactly but-”

“That was supposed to be a hypothetical question.” 

Alex felt his face go hot. Great, he really just loved to embarrass himself around Willie. But the thing was, Willie didn’t seem to mind. Normally when Alex would embarrass himself this badly, things would be awkward but it was different with Willie. He was just a free spirit and Alex enjoyed that. Alex let out a simple “oh.” 

“So, back to my question. What do you like to do for fun?” Willie raised his eyebrows in question.

Alex was not really an interesting person. There weren't really many things he could think of doing for fun. He liked hanging out with his friends but that seemed like a boring answer. “I mean...I play the drums?”

Willie looked surprised. “You play drums?”

“Yeah, what? Do I not look like a drummer?”

“No actually, you don’t.” Willie responded simply.

“Ok Willie, what do YOU do for fun then?”

“I like to skate.”

Alex was going to make a joke about how Willie didn’t look like a skater but he really did. He looked almost like the stereotypical skater. Alex never considered skaters to be his type but looking at Willie, that was quickly changing. 

“Oh…”

“What? Not into skaters?” 

“No!” Alex exclaimed loudly. He cringed at how loud his voice had gotten, especially since it caused Willie to jump. “No. It’s just...you actually look like a skater.” He explained.

Willie slowly nodded. “I try.” He says with a smirk.

The two kept asking each other questions. Alex was pretty sure they got past 20 questions but he didn’t say anything. Willie was not only cute but he was also pretty interesting. Along with skateboarding, Willie also liked to dance and draw. He was an art major, which made sense when he saw some of Willie’s art pieces. They were absolutely amazing. Alex always wished he was an art person but he couldn’t draw to save his life. Julie invited him to paint sometimes when she knew Alex had a test or something as a way to try to calm him down. He appreciated it a lot but he still wasn’t very good. 

“So, you said you’re a drummer right?”

Alex nodded.

“Do you do anything with your drumming skills?”

Alex wondered if he should bring up the band. It’s not like he was embarrassed of the band. He was super proud of everything they had done but he didn’t really want to seem like he was bragging. But then again, the more he thought about it, he wasn’t really bragging. Willie had asked him about it. “I’m in a band. It’s called Julie and the Phantoms. Tell your friends.” Alex informed Willie, using Reggie’s signature catchphrase.

“I’ll be sure to tell my dog when I get home.”

The two looked at each other before they started laughing once again. It felt nice to be in Willie’s presence. He was just a positive light. Alex wished they could be more than coworkers. He meant he wanted them to be friends but being more certainly wouldn’t hurt. Then he remembered Caleb’s stupid rule. He didn’t want to lose the job he had just gotten, even if he did like Willie. Well he wouldn’t call it liking exactly but there was definitely something there between them. And if they had to settle for being friends, Alex could handle that...probably.

Alex tried to not let it show that he was upset when his shift had been over. He really wanted to spend more time with Willie. When Willie asked for Alex’s number, it made Alex’s disappointment lessen. Alex would be seeing Willie tomorrow anyway. The two boys went their separate ways after a quick goodbye. The whole drive home, Alex’s mind kept creeping back to Willie. He never got this attached to someone this quickly. Willie had the ability to ground him just by being there. The only other people who had that sort of power were Luke, Reggie and Julie. Even Flynn, who he’s known as long as he’s known Julie, didn’t have that power. Why some guy Alex had only met a few hours ago had that power was beyond him.

The moment Alex got to his apartment, he flopped onto the couch and groaned. 

“Good to see you too.” Alex glanced up and saw Luke sitting in the arm chair with a smirk on his face. Alex was tempted to take one of the pillows but decided against it. He just put his head back down onto the couch. Alex felt a hand on his back which caused him to flinch. 

“Sorry.” Julie said softly the moment she noticed him flinch.

“It’s fine.” Alec mumbled into the couch.

“Alex, you know I love you but can you please sit up? You kinda stole my spot.”

Alex slowly sat up and moved so that Julie could sit next to him. He didn’t know Julie would be there but he wasn’t surprised. She was over basically everyday. 

“What’s got you all mopey?” Reggie asked as he emerged from the kitchen.

“Yeah, did something happen at work?” Julie’s voice was laced with concern.

“Uh...yeah. You can say that.”

Alex heard a snicker coming from his left. He glanced over and shot Luke an annoyed look. “What?”

“I know that look. You met someone.”

Alex’s face became hot. “What? No. Face? My face is perfectly normal.”

“Yeah and he came in groaning. I don’t know about you but when I meet someone, I don’t groan in despair.” Alex loved Julie more now in this moment than he ever had before and that was really saying something.

“Trust me, I know Alex. He totally met someone. He’s annoyed because he can’t stop thinking about them.”

Alex looked over at Reggie and Julie. Reggie had a fond smile on his face while Julie’s face morphed from confusion to a small smile. “Awww Alex, that’s so cute.” Julie cooed.

This caused Alex to once again start groaning before putting his head in his hands.

“So… are you gonna tell us about him or?” Alex shot Reggie a death glare and Reggie shot his hands up in surrender.

“Well are you?”

As much as Alex didn’t want to talk about it, these were his friends and he wanted them to know. He also sorta wanted to talk about it. Alex sighed before explaining what had happened at work that day. He went on about how cool Willie was and maybe talked about how cute he was more than once but that's besides the point. He went over the embarrassing 20 questions thing which got a laugh out of his friends.

“This guy sounds awesome.” 

“Word…” Reggie said as he pointed a finger gun at Julie. “You seem really attached to this guy.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure why but he makes me feel grounded. Like he didn’t judge me for anything I did, even if it was completely embarrassing.”

“You should ask him out.” Luke simply suggested.

“I can’t.” Alex huffed.

“Look, I know it's hard to ask someone out but-” Julie started.

“No, I mean I literally can’t.” When his friends gave him strange glances, he elaborated. “Caleb, my boss, had a no dating your coworkers policy.”

“That’s stupid.” Luke commented.

“I know but it's the rules.”

“I think you should quit.” Reggie said.

Alex squinted his eyes at the black haired boy. “You think I should quit the job I just got over a guy who I just met and don’t even know if I ever have a chance with him?”

Reggie shrugged. “Why not? Live a little.”

“That’s not living, its called being stupid.”

“Are you really living if you aren’t being stupid time to time.” 

The three others glanced at him. Julie and Alex wore faces of disbelief while Luke wore his signature smirk.

“Yeah Alex, would you rather ask this guy out orrrrrr spend all your time pining over him?”

\-----

Alex was still silently pining over Willie. While Luke and Reggie were disappointed that Alex didn’t just go for it but they supported his choices. Well supported was a strong word but they at least respected his choice. At least Alex was able to get Julie to see his perspective. He could tell she still wanted him to ask out Willie but she stopped drilling him about it which he was grateful for. He wasn’t upset with Reggie or Luke though. He knew that they were just trying to help but as much as Alex hypothetically wanted to be with Willie, there was no chance.

While the store was practically empty on Sunday, it had more business on Monday, which Alex was surprisingly ready for. Maybe it was Willie’s presence that made it a lot easier but Alex was still proud of himself. Willie did most of the work if he was being honest but Willie would step back every once in a while to let Alex do something. Normally, people wouldn’t like to do work but Alex was the exact opposite. He liked to feel like he was being productive because it got his mind off things. Alex would even go around the store making sure that not a single thing was out of order just to keep himself busy. He could feel Willie’s glare as he did this but he could tell it wasn’t judgemental. It was a curious yet soft look which was probably Alex’s favorite Willie expression. It was pretty hard to choose one since basically any face Willie made was absolutely adorable but he loved this one specifically because it made Willie seem so pure. 

Just as Alex made his way back behind the counter, he heard the bell from the door ring, indicating someone had entered the building. Alex immediately straightened his posture as he typically did. The moment he realized who had entered, he relaxed. Reggie’s smile grew the moment he got Alex’s attention. He happily made his way over to the counter. 

“Hey, I was wondering if you guys sell any guitar picks?” Reggie jokingly asked.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Not for you we don’t.” He responded sarcastically. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Willie’s shocked expression.

“Wow, I cannot believe this customer service. Can I speak to your manager?”

Willie stepped up next to Alex. “I’m sorry sir. I’d be glad to show you where they are.” Willie told Reggie and shot Alex a small glare.

This caused both Reggie and Alex to break out into laughter. Willie had never looked more confused than in that moment.

Reggie’s smile grew as he looked at Willie. “Hey, you’re Willie!”

Willie’s face at that point was absolutely priceless. “Uh...how did you-”

“Don’t worry about him. This is Reggie.” Alex introduced.

“We’ve known each other forever.” Reggie added. 

“Oh my god. I was super confused for a second.” Willie sighed with relief. 

“So you’re the guy Alex kept talking about.”

If looks could kill, Reggie would be dead about twelve times by now. “What he means is, well I didn’t talk about you persay….I mean…” Alex sputtered out trying to cover himself but words were not on his side. Willie didn’t say anything, he just watched as Alex tried to come up with some excuse.

After about a minute, Willie decided to put Alex out of his misery. “Alex, it's ok. I don’t mind.” Alex hated the way Willie smirked. Well no, he definitely didn’t hate it but he was just mad at how good Willie looked.

“So, what are you doing here?” Alex asked, trying to change the subject.

“Well Luke and Julie are in class and I was bored so I came to bother you.”

“Mission accomplished.” Alex said with an eye roll. 

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

Reggie glanced back at Willie. “You guys should improve on your customer service. I mean you’re great but this one…” He said as he pointed at Alex, “Needs an attitude adjustment.”

Willie smiled. “I’ll be sure to work on it with him.”

Reggie stayed around for a little bit which neither of them really minded. He was a good spirit to have around and the customers loved his charisma. Somehow, Reggie convinced someone to buy a guitar and four cds. 

“Man, maybe we should hire you to work here.” Willie commented.

“I should replace Alex.”

“I’m right here!” Alex reminded him, which made Reggie shrug.

Reggie glanced at the clock. “Luke should be getting home now. I’m gonna go bother him now.”

“Good riddance.” 

“Stop acting as if I’m not your favorite person.” Reggie said as he leaned over the counter. 

“Keep telling yourself that.” Alex replied as he placed a hand on his forehead and pushed him back.

“Fine! I see when I’m not appreciated. I’ll see you at home.” Reggie huffed. “Bye Willie.”

Willie shot him a quick wave and like that, Reggie left the store. 

“So….” Willie said slowly,

“So….”

“You and Reggie?”

Alex furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Willie. “Huh?”

“You guys live together?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, we moved in together like last year?”

Willie bit his lip and stared down at the wooden counter in front of him. “So how long have you two been together?”

Alex felt his heart stop. No one ever assumed Reggie and Alex were dating. He’s gotten Luke. he’s gotten Julie and he’s even gotten Flynn but Reggie? That one was definitely new. “What?”

“No judgement. It would be pretty hypocritical to judge. I was just wondering.”

Alex didn’t even answer for a few seconds. What did Willie mean by hypocritical?

“Uh...hypocrital?”

“Yeah. I mean you having a boyfriend. It would be pretty hypocritical for me to judge.”

So Willie had a boyfriend? Great, way to make his day a whole lot worse. Even if he couldn’t be with Willie, it still sucked that he had a boyfriend. Alex knew he shouldn’t be upset but he was. Alex knew he should’ve denied the whole dating Reggie thing at this point but he decided not to right then. “You have a boyfriend?” He asked, trying not to sound disappointed. 

“No, I just wish I did.” Willie chuckled.

Oh? Ok so maybe today wasn’t so bad. 

“Oh...well Reggie and I aren’t dating. He’s like a brother to me.” Alex clarified.

“So you're single?” Willie asked curiously.

“I am.”

Willie’s smirk returned onto his face. “Good to know.”

Alex swore Willie was trying to kill him at this point. Was this supposed to be some sort of flirting? Alex was never the best with knowing when someone was into him. Unless someone was very straightforward with him, he always assumed it was nothing. But this didn’t seem like nothing. Willie didn’t say anything else about it, which just made Alex continue to think about what it meant. The butterflies soon came back to Alex when Willie smiled at him. He thought for like the fiftieth time, This guy was actually gonna be the death of him.

\-------

A few weeks went by and Willie’s “flirting” didn’t stop. In fact, when he found out that Alex was single, the flirting increased. He was scared Willie would think he was uncomfortable with the flirting so every once in a while, Alex would attempt to flirt back. Alex’s flirting was barely flirting the more he thought about it but he could tell it amused Willie. The whole no dating thing was still in the back of his mind which really sucked. Over the weeks, his attraction towards the skater grew. He was more than an attractive face, which he already sorta knew but it really showed. He would listen to Alex whenever he had something to say, even if it was completely stupid. One thing with Alex was always scared of talking about things he liked in fear of being judged by people but around Willie, he felt like he could talk about anything. 

The two of them have had some interesting talks. It started off with their first celebrity crushes which he got to laugh at Willie for his crush on Justin Beiber. Those conversions ended with talking about weird conspiracy theories about god knows what. Willie would rant about a tv show he liked and even though Alex had no clue what he was talking about but Willie was so interesting, it barely mattered. 

Willie also bought him coffee and lunch sometimes which he was grateful for. Somehow, he guessed Alex’s drink ordered the first try. Willie claimed it “fit his vibe,” whatever that meant. To be fair, his order wasn’t that hard. It was a simple iced coffee but it still impressed him. It was a small gesture but Alex really appreciated it.

Luke, Reggie and even Julie were practically begging Alex to ask out Willie at this point. They all claimed that Willie was totally into him but then he reminded them about Caleb’s rules. All of them basically said screw the rules because “love has no rules.” Alex stammered through saying he didn’t love Willie which was true. Even with their strong connection, love was a super strong word and he wouldn’t use to describe his feelings for Willie. Even if he did love him, he still couldn’t do anything about it. Alex was so close to quitting this job just so he could be with Willie but then he thought about it rationally and realized that was a bad idea. He really liked his job, not only because of Willie. It made him feel more connected to music in general. 

But today was certainly not his day. There was a major test coming up and Alex had been completely stressing out about it. His friends assured him it would be fine. It was for his best class but Alex was still worried. The teacher had high expectations for him and he didn’t want to let them down. Plus, he hadn’t had much time to study. He had been studying during his lunch breaks instead of eating but that wasn’t much time. With work, band practice and school, he barely had time at all.

Along with that came annoying customers. Alex had to deal with them here and there but he usually had Willie to deal with them. He was very charming and sweet so people usually went easy on him. Alex on the other hand, people could see his nervousness and they used that against him. He had more annoying customers in the past few days than he had in all the weeks he had been working there. He didn’t know why but they just loved to come in and cause problems.

The thing that was really setting him off though was his parents. They had called him the previous night. They hadn’t called him since he had left home so why they decided to call him now was beyond him. At first, everything was fine, well as fine as it could be when it came to his parents. He just put on a fake happy voice and agreed to everything they had said. But then it came to them asking about Alex’s love life. And even though he was out to them, they asked him when he was going to get a girlfriend. This was the final straw for Alex. He didn’t say anything, he just hung up the phone. He stayed in his room for the rest of the night. His friend’s had knocked on his door but he shooed them away. He hoped they didn’t take it personally. Knowing them, they wouldn’t but he was scared he had hurt them. When he came out of his room the next day, they tried their best to act like nothing had happened. They never said anything but their faces gave enough of a message. Alex was so close to calling in sick but he couldn’t find it in himself to do that.

He knew Willie could tell he was off but at this point, it barely mattered. Willie once again bought him coffee and food but he didn’t really touch it. He was flattered that Willie tried to help but he just didn’t feel like eating or drinking. Once again, he hoped Willie didn’t take it to heart. By the way he was acting, he didn’t which relieved Alex. It was decently to closing time when Willie finally talked to Alex about his strange behavior.

“Hey, you're wired a little tight today. You ok?” He asked softly.

Alex kinda just wanted to cry at this point. He had bottled everything up for a while but he was determined not to cry in front of Willie. “I’m fine.” He mumbled.

He knew Willie didn’t believe him. He bit his lip before speaking again. “You don’t have to tell me or anything. Just know that I’m here to listen if you wanted to.”

After thinking about it, he did kinda want to get everything off his chest. Willie was a great listener and even if he couldn't help Alex, he still supported him.

“Life kinda sucks right now.”

“Well, what’s going on.”

Alex started off by explaining the whole test situation. Then he moved onto ranting about the annoying customers. “Like this one lady was mad at me when I didn’t understand which band she was referring to. You wanna know what she told me about this band? That there’s guys who sing like thanks for being specific!”

“Which band was she talking about?” Willie asked as he leaned over the counter.

“One Direction.”

Willie smiled. “Wow, you didn’t guess One Direction from that very detailed clue?”

Alex rolled his eyes but instead of it being out of annoyance, it was out of happiness. He hated that a stupid joke like that made him feel better.The two stared at each other which made Alex’s heart race. The silence kinda scared him.

“Hey, you know what makes me feel better?” Willie asked suddenly. He made his way over to one of the sound systems and pulled out his phone. He connected the wire to the phone and seemed to search through it. 

“Uh, I thought we weren’t supposed to touch any of that.” 

Willie looked up at Alex and shrugged. “We aren’t.” He said with a smile. He looked back down at the phone in his hand and continued to look for something. Soon enough, a familiar song played.

“Dude, this song is so old.” Alex groaned playfully.

“What? You don’t like Carly Rae Jepsen?”

“I do, I was just pointing out how old it is.”

Willie didn’t say anything, he just put his phone down onto the sound system and started mouthing the words as he moved closer to Alex. Alex kept his gaze on Willie. He was always a pretty carefree person but seeing him like this was a whole different side to him and Alex loved to see it.

“Come on, you know you want to.” Willie urged.

“This is stupid.” Alex said with a playful eyeroll.

Willie didn’t take offence to the comment, in fact it made him even happier. “It’s only us. Come on! Let go and live a little.”

Alex felt like he’s heard the saying “live a little” for the millionth time. 

“If I get in trouble-”

“You won’t. You really think I’d let you get in trouble?”

Alex crossed his arms but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. ”Yes actually.”

“Please?” Willie asked hopefully.

Alex didn’t want to say no, especially since Willie was looking at him with the biggest smile. His eyes had this sparkle to them, similar to the sparkle they had when he talked about skating. Alex didn’t say anything, he just made his way over to Willie with a new found confidence as he mouthed the words to “Call Me Maybe.” Willie’s smile grew significantly. 

Alex loved dancing. He didn’t show off or talk about his love for dancing very often but it was something he did every once in a while. He rarely danced in front of people, scared of what they would think but once again, Willie brought Alex out of his comfort zone. The two of them danced around having the time of their life. Alex was hoping no customers would come in and ruin this moment but since it was close to closing, he didn’t worry too much about it. It was basically a desert anytime near closing. They played all sorts of songs. Willie commonly asked for suggestions but one, Alex couldn’t think of anything and two, Alex kinda just wanted to see what kind of music Willie liked. Apparently, he really liked music from 2010-2015. Alex wasn’t very good with super modern and new music but Alex knew basically every song Willie played.

Once Willie started actually singing, Alex felt his heart stop. He had a beautiful voice. He didn’t tell Willie that, he just admired it. Willie urged him to join him and with barely any hesitation, Willie joined it. While the actual singers were way louder, Alex thought their voices blended nicely. Alex wasn’t really a singer. He left all the big singing to Luke, Julie and sometimes Reggie. It’s not that he couldn’t sing, he just preferred the drums. Also, he felt as if his voice was miles below the other, even when they claimed that wasn’t true. Willie brought out a side of Alex that no one really had and he was sorta loving it.

A song that sounded vaguely familiar to Alex broke him out of his thoughts. He could’ve sworn he’s heard it before. It finally clicked after a few seconds.

“Is this The Prom? I never knew you liked musical theatre.”

Willie smiled. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

The song was “Love Thy Neighbor.” He didn’t listen to musical theatre songs very often but he knew this one pretty well.

“Man, I wish I could show this song to my parents.” Alex said randomly.

“What? Your parents don’t like musicals?” Willie asked.

“No, they don’t like gay people.” Alex immediately regretted saying that. Alex glanced at Willie and he hated the way Willie’s face fell. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I’m sorry about that Alex.” Willie’s voice was sincere. 

“Can we just forget I said that?” Alex grimaced.

Willie didn’t say anything. He just nodded and stepped back. Great, now things were awkward. Alex had a talent of ruining the moment. He watched as Willie grabbed his phone and started typing. He scrolled for a few seconds before putting the phone back down. Alex immediately recognized the song. He has listened to it all the time growing up, well, only when his parents weren't around. Alex smiled as Willie started to dance once again, a huge smile on his face. When the chorus was about to start, Willie made his way towards

“I'm beautiful in my way, cause God makes no mistakes.” Willie started.

Alex’s lips curved into a small smile. “I'm on the right track, baby”

“I was born this way.” The two of them sang.

They spent the rest of the song singing and dancing. Well, their dancing wasn’t really dancing, they were just jumping to the beat but they were still having fun. Alex forgot about his parents, forgot about his anxieties and focused on the boy in front of him. The song ended way sooner than Alex would’ve liked. His heart was racing, not only because of Willie’s presence but because of how much he had jumped around. He was breathing pretty heavily but he didn’t even mind. 

A soft beat started to play throughout the store. Alex didn’t recognize the song. All that registered was the soft voice of a woman singing. The lyrics were beautiful and the rhythm was nice and slow.

“May I have this dance?” Willie asked softly as he held out his hand. This was the first time he’d ever seen Willie even be remotely shy. Alex’s face felt extremely hot and he knew Willie could see his blush. Alex gave a small nod and slowly put his hand onto Willie’s. WIllie immediately pulled Alex closer. He kept his one hand intertwined with Alex and hovered his other above Alex’s waist. He looked into Alex’s eyes, asking for permission to place his hand down. Alex gave a quick nod and Willie lowered his hand so it was now toucing Alex’s hip-=’  
]. Butterflies erupted in his stomach. Alex placed his hand on Willie’s shoulder. As they stared into each other’s eyes, they two swayed to the music.

The whole world seemed to melt away as they danced. Nothing else mattered to Alex at that moment. Alex hadn’t really danced with anyone before. The only time he ever had was when his friends all danced with him at prom after his date never showed up. Even after how embarrassing it was to be ghosted at prom, it was still one of the most fun times of his life. His friends really made prom special for him and he really appreciated it. That night he had his first and only slow dance with Reggie. Luke and Julie started dating senior year so they went to prom together and Reggire decided to go solo. Well technically he went with Flynn but she decided to let Reggie dance with Alex while she ended up dancing with some random girl who she was now dating. Reggie was an awful dancer and kept stepping on Alex’s feet but he thought it was sweet of him to offer.

Alex could tell the song was about to end based on the way the music started to fade. He got a good look at Willie’s face and he had a mischievous smile. Just as Alex was going to question him, he felt himself get dipped backwards.

“Willie!” Alex squealed frantically.

He chuckled before bringing Alex back upright. They were closer than they had been before which made Alex’s breathing hitch. The music had stopped but neither of them focused on that, they just kept staring into each other’s eyes. Willie’s eyes glanced down to Alex’s lips before looking back into his eyes. Alex gave a small nod, hoping he understood what he was trying to do. Willie started to lean in to the point where Alex could feel his breath on his face. Alex closed his eyes and their lips were about 0.2 seconds away from touching. 

“Boys.” A voice boomed, causing Alex to jump back. The two of them glanced over and saw Caleb standing there. When Caleb had said nothing, Alex felt like he was going to puke. What was he going to say? Was he going to get yelled at? Was he going to be fired? A million thoughts went through Alex’s head. Alex prayed Caleb didn’t see anything. He did pull away pretty quickly so maybe he was quick enough.

“I don’t pay you guys to sit around.” He said as he glanced between them. He didn’t seem mad or anything which gave Alex hope that he didn’t see anything.

“I’m sorry sir. We were just-” Alex started but Willie interrupted. “You barely pay me at all.”

Alex looked at Willie like he was crazy. Out of anything he could’ve said, he chose to say that? He looked between Caleb and Willie, the shocked look never left his face. He watched as Caleb’s eyebrow raised. He was scared of what Caleb had to say next.

“Touche.” Caleb said calmly before walking into the back room.

\------

Willie and Alex hadn’t discussed what had happened that night and it was driving Alex crazy especially since Willie was acting like nothing had happened. Yes this was way better than Willie avoiding Alex or acting weird around him but it was extremely frustrating. He had no clue if Willie actually liked him or it was a just in the moment thing. Alex thought Caleb was going to be a problem but that was quickly brushed away. He treated him exactly as he had before which Alex was super grateful for. He really didn’t want to lose his job. He realized that if he were to be with Willie, he probably would’ve which made things so much worse. As each day passed, he cared less and less about losing his job. He really liked Willie and he really wanted to be with him. 

He told his friends about what happened and they all basically had the same response, that Alex was an idiot. They all said this opinion in a different way but they all basically said the same thing. They claimed that Willie liked him but he still wasn’t sure and he really didn’t feel like risking it.

Willie was on his lunch break when three familiar faces had entered the music shop. Luke and Reggie have stopped by before but this was Julie’s first time.

“Alex, just the person we were looking for!” Luke exclaimed. 

“Do you guys come here just to bother me?”

“Yes.” Reggie replied with a smile.

“They do.” Julie said as she pointed to the boys next to her. “I actually came here to look for a CD.”

“Oh, I can help you find it.” Alex suggested.

“Nah, that’s ok. I kinda wanna hear what these two have to say.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “What do you guys want?”

“So...where’s your boyfriend?” Luke asked with a smirk. 

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Alex exclaimed. He really didn’t want to talk about this at work. He knew Willie wasn’t there right now but he could walk in at any minute. 

“The only reason he isn’t is because you are being dense. He’s totally into you.” 

Alex glanced at Luke. “I am not taking anything you say about romance seriously. You took me to Chuck E Cheese for our first date.”

“I don’t see the problem with-”

“We were 15!”

“You weren’t complaining.” Luke said with an eye roll.

Julie just gave a confused look before shaking her head and turning her attention back to Alex.  
“Come on Alex, why don’t you just ask him out? Or at least tell him how you feel. You said he tried to kiss you.”

“Well yeah but maybe it was a just in the moment thing. What if he’s not actually into me? I don’t wanna risk it.”

Reggie and Luke shot each other a look.

“Life is a risk…” Reggie sang.

“But I will take it.” Luke continued.

Julie quickly understood what they were trying to do so she sang the next lyric, “Close my eyes and jump.”

“Are you guys trying to convince me to ask out Willie by using our song lyrics?”

“That depends...is it working?” Reggie asked hopefully.

Alex crossed his arms and looked at the three in front of them. They all had hopeful looks on their faces that he could help but smile softly at. He knew all they wanted to do was help.

Instead of giving a direct answer, Alex continued the song. “Together, I think that we can make it.”

“Come on, let’s run.” They all harmonized. Alex saw their smiles grow and he felt happy. He loved seeing his friends smile and he wouldn’t give that up for anything.

“So, does that mean you are gonna ask Willie out?” Luke questioned.

“Yeah, it does.” Alex jumped at the squealing coming from the three. Well, it was mostly Reggir and Julie squealing but Luke was also visibly happy. 

“Hey guys!” A voice called out from the doorway of the back room. All of them looked over and standing there was Willie. Everyone shot him a quick hello.

“We should probably go. We have….stuff to do.” Luke claimed. Julie smacked his arm lightly. which he grimaced at. He mumbled a small ow and Julie quietly apologized. The couple waved goodbye before leaving the store. Reggie hangs back for a second.

“You got this Alex.” He whispers before following his friends outside.

Willie made his way over to Alex and just like everytime Willie was near him, his heart sped up. 

“Hey Alex?” Willie asked, causing Alex to hum. “Can I ask you something?”

Alex’s heart halted. This was nothing new. It was his usual response to the question “can I ask you something?’” What was Willie going to ask him? Alex couldn’t even say anything so he just nodded.

“Do you like me?” 

Alex furrowed his eyebrows. “Of course I do. You’re a really good friend and-”

Willie stepped a bit closer to Alex. “No I mean, are you interested in me?” 

Once again, Alex’s heart sped up. He was instantly going to deny it. This all felt like too much for him but then his friends flashed into his mind. He told them he was going to talk to Willie and he didn’t want to go back on them. Alex put his head down and hesitated before giving a small yes. He really hoped Willie could hear him because he really didn’t want to repeat it. Willie’s silence was slowly killing him. “I’m sorry. I know you probably don’t like me in that way but I really don’t want to ruin our friendship or-”

“Alex, can you look at me?”

He really didn’t want to but the tone of Willie’s voice was soft yet convincing so he slowly lifted his head.

“I thought it was super obvious but I do like you Alex, like a lot. It’s kinda sad how much actually.” Willie admitted as he scratched at his neck. 

“Really?”

Willie nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Ever since your first day.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Even after I embarrassed myself?”

“It gave you character.” Willie teased. He held his hand out and Alex happily accepted it. 

“What about Caleb?”

“Who cares about what Caleb has to say?”

“Me actually. I really like working here.” Alex confessed. 

“Well then I guess it will have to be our little secret.” Willie said as he squeezed Alex’s hand.

\------

Dating Willie was probably one of the best decisions Alex had ever made. Well they were sort of dating. Alex made it very clear to Willie that they were only to be together at the store. Alex’s logic was that if they were only intimate at the store, they’d have less of a chance of being caught by Caleb. Willie, being the person he was, questioned Alex’s logic. You can tell he was pretty disappointed by it but he supported Alex’s choice. He just wanted to be with Alex and if being with him meant that whatever they had stayed at the store then so be it. Since they didn’t go out and have typical dates, their “dates” were basically just lunches in the backroom. 

Normally, one of them would take a break while the other ran the store but now, they just used a closed sign whenever they decided to have lunch so they could have lunch together. It was only for like 20 minutes and it's not like the store was super busy anyway. Those 20 minutes were the best 20 minutes of Alex’s day. Alex knew Willie was amazing but dating Willie was even better. Constant words of affection and admiration came from the skater and it made Alex feel amazing. He was always someone who needed validation from others and getting it from Willie made everything better. His confidence was growing significantly. Before, accepting compliments was never something Alex did. He always denied them which made his friends mad. They wanted him to “own his awesomeness,” those were Reggie’s words, not his. But recently, he’s been doing better. Obviously Alex didn’t accept every compliment, Willie was not a miracle worker, but it was a massive improvement from how it had been for years.

Willie also encouraged him to break out of his shell. How Willie, who was so spontaneous, fell for someone who was the complete opposite was a mystery to him. While he never encouraged Alex to do anything that made him uncomfortable, he did push Alex to follow his heart. He never pushed too hard which Alex was very grateful for. He hated being pushed too much and Willie was really understanding when it came to that. He knew that a single person shouldn’t be the cause of his happiness but that’s not what Willie was. Sure Willie made Alex extremely happy but Willie was more of a push to make him happier instead of being the single cause.

His friends were also super supportive of them. They came by the store a lot more. They more often than not came for Willie instead of Alex. People would probably think this would upset him but in reality, he actually thought it was pretty sweet of them. They obviously embarrassed him with their interrogation of Willie but Willie thought it was funny and took it very well.

One obstacle they still had to deal with was Caleb. While Caleb wasn’t at the store often, he still came every once in a while meaning they had to keep their guard up. He usually didn’t stay long but of course, today was one of the days Caleb decided to stay the whole day. 

“Alexander?” It was still hard for Alex not to cringe at the name.

“Yes sir?”

“Can you get me the box of Beatles CDs from the back?” Caleb asked.

“No problem.” Alex said as he quickly made his way to the back room. He liked to pride himself with knowing where all the stuff was so it wasn’t a surprise he found the box pretty quickly. Even if he didn’t know where everything was, the box was very clearly labeled. Just as he was going to grab the box, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it.

From Willie<3:  
Hey, don’t come back out yet

Alex furrowed his eyebrows. 

To Willie<3:  
Ok?

Alex just stood there since he didn’t really have anything to do. He waited for about two minutes before he was met with Willie.

“Hey Willie, what did you-” Alex started to ask but was quickly interrupted when Willie backed him up against the wall and pressed his lips onto Alex’s. Alex never understood the whole feeling sparks thing until he kissed Willie. He’s kissed him before but everytime Willie had kissed him, it felt just like it did the first time they kissed. Alex not only felt sparks when their lips touched but he also felt butterflies fill his stomach. It was a feeling Alex never thought he’d like but turns out, he really liked it. Willie pulled away and smiled up at Alex. “Hey you.” Willie said softly which made Alex chuckle.

“So is that why you made me stay back here?” Willie looked at Alex as if he was an idiot but it wasn’t an insulting look at all. “Ok ok. I get it.”

Willie didn’t say anything before pulling Alex into another kiss. The two of them went from kissing to looking at each other to back to kissing for a while. After a few minutes, Alex pulled away. Willie went to lean in again but Alex put a hand on Willie’s chest, making him stop and move back immediately. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” He asked, worry lacing his voice.

“I’m fine, just….what about the cds?” Alex asked as he gestured to the box on the shelf.

Willie smiled before grabbing the box off his shelf. He gave Alex a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room. Alex needed a few more seconds to catch his breath and ground himself. He glanced in the direction Willie had just left in and a dopey smile grew on his face. Willie really was something special. He quickly gained his composer and made his way back to the front of the store.

\-----

The store was practically dead that day. They only had about 3 customers and it was 2 hours until closing. It was honestly better for him. The less customers he had, the more time he could spend with Willie. The skater once again pressed his luck with the sound system and unlike last time, Caleb wasn’t there to interrupt them. Willie had shown him a few new musical theatre songs which Alex discreetly added to his “Listen to Later” list. When Willie asked him for his suggestions, Alex asked if he could show a demo his band recorded which Willie was super happy about. He chose the song “Stand Tall” since it was not only his favorite song on the demo but he actually had a small solo in that song he was actually pretty proud of. Willie seemed to really be loving the song which made Alex’s chest swell with pride. Alex knew his solo was coming up and he carefully watched Willie’s reaction. He heard his part being sung throughout the store and Willie paused. His pause made Alex a little scared. Willie looked at Alex with a shocked expression.

“Was that you?” Willie asked.

Alex nodded. “Yeah, the band wanted me to have a little singing solo or whatever.” He explained.

“It was amazing! Like I’ve heard you sing before but that? I think that’s my favorite part of any song!”

“Any song?”

“Well...I mean it’s in close comparison to Phillpa Soo’s voice in Burn but…”

Alex rolled his eyes as Willie pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I think it just barely beats it out.” Willie teased.

“Wow, nice to know I beat out a literal broadway star.”

“You beat out anyone for me.” Willie told him. His smile was fond and full of admiration towards Alex. This was one of the main reasons why Alex really liked Willie. He looked at him as if Alex was everything. He didn’t know why Willie thought Alex was so special but the fact that he did made Alex feel like the luckiest person in the world.

“Shut up.” Alex mumbled.

“Make me.” Willie smirked.

Alex glared at the long haired boy. “Did you really just try to get me to kiss you with a really bad romantic movie cliche?”

“Maybe.” Willie bit his lip and his smirk grew bigger. He knew he had Alex wrapped around his finger and even though Alex acted like he hated it, he secretly didn’t mind it. Especially since he knew that it was not only one sided. Alex could ask Willie to do anything for him and Willie would drop anything to do what Alex asked of him. He didn’t even have to beg either. He just gave him a small look and Willie did it. “So… can I get my kiss now?” 

Alex didn’t say anything as he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss onto Willie’s lips. “That’s all I get?” Willie pouted.

Alex booped Willie’s nose. “Yes.” 

“Did you just boop my nose?”

Alex’s heart froze. He wasn’t sure if that was something people still did. He thought about all the couples he knew which was basically just Luke and Julie. He’s never seen them do anything like that which worried him. Did he just embarrass himself...once again? “I...uh…”

Willie smiled. “It was cute,” He pulled Alex closer. “You’re cute.” He said as he booped Alex’s nose in return. Alex gave a small sigh of relief. “No, you’re cute.” Alex argued.

Willie raised his eyebrow. “Are we really gonna go there?”

“Oh I think we are.”

The rest of the day, the two had a compliment war. Basically they went on trying to see who could make the other one the most flustered. Willie ended up winning but Alex didn’t make it easy for him to win. Usually WIllie was the charismatic one but when it came down to it, Alex could be if he really trusted the person he was with. Over the past few weeks, Willie became someone Alex really trusted. He didn’t trust him as much as he did his band members but considering the fact that he’s known them for way longer, he’d say it was pretty fair.

Alex and Wille went their separate ways at the end of the day, not before sharing a quick kiss on the way out. Kissing Willie was probably never going to get old. Alex plugged his phone into the aux cord and played a song that Willie had suggested. Alex usually never watched or listened to things people suggest. He’s gone through many “oh yeah, I’ll watch or listen to it later” without actually going through with watching it. Did he feel bad about it? Sometimes yes but he was pretty picky with the things he liked. But he had to give it to Willie,the guy had a really good taste in music. It didn’t take long for Alex to get to his apartment. The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by Reggie.

“Hey Lex!” He exclaimed happily. 

“Hey Reg,” Alex glanced over at the couch where Julie was lying on the couch, her head was in Luke’s lap. “Hey guys.”

Both of them gave him a simple greeting before going back to what they were previously talking about. Alex was about to go to his room when he felt his phone vibrate. He took it out and looked at the display screen. It was a text from Willie.

From Willie<3:  
I miss u :(

Alex smiled.

To Willie<3:  
I just saw you like a few minutes ago?

From Willie<3:  
Well I miss u. :(  
I know you said nothing outside the store but do you maybe wanna come over?

To Willie<3:  
Willie….

From Willie<3:  
Please? 

Alex sighed. He knew he probably shouldn’t but he kinda did want to see Willie. Sure he just left the skater but he did miss him. He looked over at his friends who weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary. They would be fine without him. Another buzz from his phone interrupted his thoughts.

From Willie<3:  
We can do whatever you want

To Willie<3:  
Can we watch Dirty Dancing?

Alex had an attachment to Dirty Dancing. The movie was a classic and it gave him a sense of nostalgia.

From Willie<3:  
If that’s what you want then yes  
Soooooo?

Alex rolled his eyes before shooting Willie a quick yes. He took another look at his friends who all seemed distracted with whatever they were talking about. He slowly made his way towards the door. Just as his hand was about to touch the handle, he felt something being thrown at him. He turned around and noticed a pillow that usually sat on the couch was now laying sadly on the floor below his feet.

“Where are you going?” Reggie asked. It was clear he had been the one to throw the pillow. 

“Yeah, you just got here.” Julie added. 

“I’m just...going places.” 

His three friends just looked at each other, all sharing a knowing smile.

“Places? What kind of places?” Julie questioned.

“Just….to a friend’s house.”

“Alex, we are your only friends.” Luke pointed out. 

Alex glared at the boy on the couch before looking down at his hands. “That’s not true.” He mumbled.

“Yeah Luke, how could you forget? Alex has another friend.” 

“Yeah, a long haired skater perhaps?” Reggie teased.

They all giggled and Alex’s face felt super hot. He started to fiddle with his hoodie string. The laughing died down after a minute. “Come on Lex, we are just teasing you.” 

Alex looked up and smiled. “Yeah, I know…..bye!” he exclaimed before opening the door and walking out. 

\-----

Movie night turned into multiple movies night. The two cuddled on the couch for hours as they watched a bunch of popular 80’s movies. In Alex’s opinion, they were some of the best movies to hit the market and Willie agreed. Alex noticed something off about Willie but he didn’t really think about it until he went to kiss Willie’s forehead. The moment his lips touched it, he was met with a feeling of unusual heat against his lips. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Willie.

“Wills?”

Willie looked up at Alex and hummed.

“Are you feeling ok?”

‘Uh...yeah. I feel fine. Why?”

“Your head feels hot.” Alex informed him.

Willie just shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention back onto the tv.

“Wills.” Alex’s voice was more firm and serious than it had been before, causing Willie to look up once again. “Are you sure you're feeling ok?”

“I….I’m sorry.” Willie said as he looked down at his hands.

Alex shot Willie a confused look. “Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“I didn’t feel good and I invited you over here and now you could get sick and-” Willie stopped talking when he felt Alex squeeze his hand.

“When did you start not feeling good?” Alex asked.

“Sometime after lunch but I didn’t want to leave you there alone so I just acted like nothing was wrong. When I got home, I just started feeling worse and I didn’t want to be alone so…”

“You invited me.” Alex finished. Willie just nodded before looking down in embarrassment. “You should’ve told me you didn’t feel good. I would’ve been fine on my own.”

“Trust me, I know. You’re great at handling things and all that. I just felt bad.”

Alex wrapped his arm around Willie’s shoulder and on instinct, Willie leaned into his touch.  
“You don’t have to feel bad about not feeling good Willie. Is there anything I could do to help you?”

The skater pouted softly at Alex. “Can you just stay here?”

Alex couldn’t say no to that face. Not like he was going to anyway but the look on Willie’s face was just so innocent and cute. He pressed a kiss to Willie’s cheek and cuddled him closer. “Of course.” He mumbled.

\-------

Alex basically had to force Willie to stay home the next day. Alex had stayed at Willie’s house since Willie didn’t want him driving home late. Alex woke up first and may or may not have watched Willie sleep. It wasn’t in a creepy way or anything, or at least that’s what Alex liked to claim. Willie was a cute sleeper. He just looked so calm and sweet. The moment Willie woke up, he said good morning to Alex and he just about died. His morning voice was something Alex could not properly handle, especially this early in the morning. Willie started to get up and was about to start getting ready when Alex stopped him.

“Willie, you are staying here.”

“Alex!” Willie whined.

Alex just looked at Willie whose shoulders slumped. Alex knew he won when Willie sat back down on his bed. Alex glanced at the clock and realized he was going to be late if he stopped back at his apartment. Was Caleb going to be mad at him? “You can borrow some of my clothes if you want.” Willie said suddenly, which stopped Alex’s mental dilemma. 

One thing Alex noticed when looking through Willie’s wardrobe is that the guy wore a lot of crop tops. They looked great on Willie but Alex knew he couldn’t pull it off himself. He knew Willie would disagree with that statement but he didn’t have time to really think about that. He found a black button down shirt with some random designs on it. It couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be crosses or flowers but it was a nice shirt. It was a little fancy but it looked nice. He made his way to the bathroom and quickly put on the shirt. He was expecting it to be a bit tight but it actually fit him perfectly. “I never noticed how many crop tops you had.” Alex commented as he walked out of the bathroom. 

“Yeah, I don’t usually wear them to work. All my other stuff is in the wash,” Willie looked Alex up and down which made him blush. “You look good.”

“Thanks. Also maybe you should start wearing those crop tops.” Alex suggested.

“Why? Would you like that?” 

“Maybe I would.” Alex mumbled, making Willie smile.

“Ok, I’ll take that into consideration.”

Alex hated that he had to leave Willie but he needed to get to work. Willie told him that he informed Caleb that he wasn’t going to be there. Alex was glad Willie was listening to him and was staying home. Alex wasn’t too worried about being sick. He’s always had the strongest immune system of all of his friends. While all his friends got the flu, he was stuck taking care of him. He didn’t mind but it was entirely chaotic and Alex hopes that never happened again. He could handle one sick person. He could even handle two but three was too much. Especially when Reggie was extremely clingy when he was sick. 

When Alex entered the store, he was surprised to see Caleb standing behind the counter. It was rare for Caleb to be there, especially right when they opened.

“Good morning sir.” Alex said as he made his way over to near where Caleb was standing, still keeping his distance from the taller man.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Not to sound rude or anything, but why are you here?” Alex asked. The moment Caleb shot him one of his intimidating looks, Alex decided to elaborate. “Well, it's just that you aren’t usually here this early and-”

Caleb put his hand up, signaling for Alex to stop talking. He immediately shut up and refused to look Caleb in the eyes. “I am here because William called in sick.”

“What? Really? I didn’t know.” Alex knew he didn’t sound very convincing but he had to act as if he had no clue about Willie. Caleb gave him a weird look before continuing. “Right, so I decided to come and stay for the day. I know you could probably handle things on your own but I really had nothing else to do.”

Alex’s nervousness was very clear when it came to being near Caleb. He knew he probably shouldn’t have been so scared around him now that it's been awhile since he started working there but Caleb’s whole intimidating demeanor never really went away. Alex didn’t say anything, he just awkwardly stood around, waiting for Caleb to give him some sort of instruction on what to do. With Willie, he kinda just did whatever. But with Caleb, he felt severely on edge.

“That’s odd.” Caleb said out of the blue.

Alex looked up and gulped. “What is sir?”

“I’m pretty sure William has the same shirt.” He pointed out. Alex’s eyes widened as he looked down at the shirt he was currently wearing. He almost forgot he was wearing Willie’s shirt.

“Oh...I mean, it’s a nice shirt. I saw it at the store and...bought it.” He explained, hoping that it was good enough to get Caleb off his back. It worked well because Caleb didn’t say anything. Whether or not he believed him, he didn’t ask any more questions about it.

Alex was so relieved when he was able to go on his lunch break. He no longer just sat around while Caleb stood there and watched his every move. Every time they had a customer, Caleb watched intently as Alex took care of them. Alex would look over after each customer just to see how Caleb would react. He couldn’t tell if his indifference was a good sign but at least the guy didn’t look angry. He went into the backroom and took a few bites out of the sandwich he made at Willie’s house. He scrolled through his phone as he ate, looking at the random stuff his friends were talking about in the groupchat. Basically Reggie was sending memes, Luke was reacting to them and Julie was telling Luke to pay attention in class. 

His lunch break felt way shorter than it normally did. It was probably because Alex was dreading going back to face Caleb. He slowly made his way back to the front of the store where Caleb was. He was doing something with the cash register. Alex felt the familiar feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket. Normally, he wouldn’t look at his phone, especially not in front of Caleb. But he was texting Willie beforehand asking how he was. He wanted to make sure he was ok and he was sure Caleb wouldn’t get too mad. Or at least he hoped that he wouldn’t. He took his phone out and looked at the message. Alex smiled when he read that Willie was doing ok. When Alex looked up however, he noticed that Caleb was watching him. He felt his stomach drop. Just as he was going to apologize, he was cut off.

“Can you tell William I said I hope he feels better.”

How did he know? “I wasn’t-” Alex started to say but when Caleb continued to look at him, he just mumbled a small ok. Caleb closed the cash register and made his way over to Alex.

“Alexan- Alex.” Alex was shocked by the correction. Caleb has never once referred to him as Alex. It was always Alexander. “You guys can stop sneaking around now. Not like you two were doing a good job anyway.” That was all Caleb said before leaving Alex in the front room.

All Alex could do was stand there with his jaw stuck open.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed:) This is loosely based off an idea I saw somewhere on the internet! Incase anyone was curious, the song they slow danced to is "Dance With You" from the prom:)


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